The other day when I was in the car with DH, Nice to Be With You by Gallery came on the 70’s station he listens to. Suddenly I was riding my bike to the high school swimming pool on a hot summer day with a quick stop at the tiny convenience store to buy candy before I got there.

I allowed myself to be captivated by that memory for a couple of minutes while the song played, then started talking with hubs about “the good ole days.” He had memories of the same as a kid. At our age, who doesn’t? He asked if it was free, and I laughed.

“No, but it wasn’t expensive. And all the kids from school went there.” I sighed, letting the great memories roll over me.

Thing is, I don’t know why my boys don’t get out more. I don’t want to sound as though I’m complaining, because Lord knows at some point they are not going to want anything to do with us. But for right now, they actually like to hang with us.

Bugs had been wanting to see the Men in Black movie and I had encouraged him to take a friend. But for some reason, he seemed reluctant to go without me. So I said I would take him with his friend. When we got there, I asked if I should sit in another row. He and his best friend looked at me like I was crazy. “What for?”

“Well, you know! Two teenage boys don’t want the mom around.”

They laughed at me then told me it was fine. We had a really good time, then went to get a bite to eat afterwards and talked. I love that they will still talk to me. I feel so lucky and grateful for this. Open communication is the best thing you can have with your kids. I know they don’t tell me everything, but I would hope that if something is wrong, that if they really need to talk or have a problem, they would feel like they could bring it to me.

So in the end, I guess it’s O.K. that they aren’t tearing off to unknown places alone. I’ll just keep enjoying them for as long as I can.

28 Responses to The 70’s

My two boys have always been like that too. They see their friends at school but otherwise they still enjoy chillin’ at home or going to the movies with us. It was always nice to know they didn’t want to go out and hang around with the losers on the street corners. Now that my oldest son (19 years) has a very serious girlfriend though and has our old car, he is not around as much as he used to be, and he is going away to college in September, so I know the big changes are coming, and I’m terrified!! By the way, I can relate to the old music bringing back memories. I have a free trial of Sirius satellite radio in my car right now, and all I listen to is the 70’s and 80’s stations. They are amazing :).

It’s so nice when they are willing to be with us, isn’t it? I do love the oldies station. A dear friend of mine happens to be 10 years older, and when I was visiting her last, she had the 60’s station on in the car! We had such a great time listening to that–it was a blast! The world has been blessed with some truly great musicians!

Kids today aren’t nearly as independent as your generation. We need our parents to take us places, but also, we’re okay with talking to them on a closer level than say my parents were with my grandparents. A generational character shift maybe? Funny, I just blogged about the 70’s!!!

Sydney, where is your blog about the 70’s? I visited your sight but didn’t see it. Great photos btw, and definitely, you must take the messy boy as the sibling…:-) Although every girl should have a sister…or at least a friend who is like a sister. I think it’s a good generational character shift. I just don’t want to have kids afraid to live their own life–to get out there and try different things (legal things, of course). To be able to say, “I can…” on their own. There is a certain thrill that comes with accomplishment on your own, and I don’t want them to miss that.

http://sydneyjoto.wordpress.com/2012/06/27/my-theme-song/ I just mention the 70’s at the end because it’s the era that gave me my favorite song and my parents. Being independent is an art that I’m seeing be practiced in older and older kids. But your boys aren’t going to miss it because it’s an art that has to stay in the teen years. Peaking 17… 18, your boys will realize that they’re almost as adult as their mom! That, I can gaurantee.

What a wonderful relationship you have with your kids. Enjoy it, not all parents have that. Some parents are only tolerated. You kids show that they truly love you and like being with you. Great job parenting.